And warm up the Internet of Things

Nest has announced that its Learning Thermostat is available to buy in the UK starting today, as the Google-owned company turns up the heat on the Internet of Things.

The thermostat has been available in the US since 2011, but Nest told us that it's taken a while to tailor its product specifically for a UK market.

The Learning Thermostat, which joins the Nest Protect smoke alarm, learns your schedule and temperature preferences, turning itself off when you're away and adjusting itself according to local weather forecasts.

A Nest spokesperson told us that it that it takes on average two weeks for the thermostat to have learned our day-to-day behaviour. The device can also be controlled remotely via iOS and Android devices.

It arrives in the UK along with an extra bit of hardware called a Heat Link (not required for US users) which connects directly to the boiler and links to the thermostat via wires in the wall.

Oh, but if you don't fancy Nest clinging to your wall, you can buy an accessory stand to prop it up on a horizontal surface instead.

The thermostat alone will be available for £179 but professional installation is advised, and that'll set you back £249.

Empower

Nest has also announced a partnership with energy provider npower, which will offer the Nest Thermostat to customers as part of their energy plans.

Nest claims that, depending on the user's house, heating bill savings could range from 4% to 29%. One particularly handy feature, True Radiant, will learn how quickly your system takes to heat up and cool down and start factoring that into its schedule.

Fancy yourself some smarter heating? The Nest Learning Thermostat is available from today on Nest's website along with other select stores, including Amazon, Apple, John Lewis and B&Q.